The invention is generally directed to puzzles and in particular to a crossword type puzzle in which the puzzle boxes are pre-marked with symbols. The symbols are representative of two or more different letters and may be adapted by the addition of appropriate lines into the appropriate letters solving the clue.
Traditionally, crossword puzzles are formed as grids with empty squares and blacked in squares separating the blanked out squares. Each blank square is filled with a single letter and the groups of blank squares form words both across and down. The blacked in squares separate the groups of blank squares forming words.
Each blank square which is the start of a word, either across or down, is numbered. A series of clues for words which go across and down, keyed to the numbered boxes, is generally provided with the crossword puzzle. In this way a puzzle solver would look to a word starting at a numbered blank space, count the number of blank spaces in the word indicitive of the length of the word and check the corresponding clue. Based on the clue and the length of the word, the puzzle solver fills in each of the blank spaces with a letter. Next, the puzzle solver proceeds to fill in another word, usually a word sharing a common letter with the filled in word. The filled in letters in the words provide a further clue to the solution of the crossword puzzle. As more of the clues are solved, additional clues in the form of known letters in a word are present.
If the puzzle solver is unable to determine which word should be filled in corresponding to a clue, additional clues can be obtained by solving words sharing common squares with the unknown word in the opposite direction. For example, if a word going across is unknown, additional letters can be obtained by solving the words which go down, each such word sharing a single letter with the unknown word.
In this way, a puzzle solver can work through the puzzle, finishing the puzzle when all of the blank squares have been filled in. Because of the interlocking nature of crossword puzzles, any error made in filling in words creates problems in words which interlock. Even a few erroneously filled in words can propagate through the puzzle and prevent its solution. If a four letter word going across at the top of the puzzle is filled in incorrectly, major problems can ensue. For example, if the puzzle solver utilizes the incorrect letter in attempting to fill in the intersecting words going down, words starting with an incorrect letter will be inserted. This will likely cause further confusion and problems in filling in words going across beneath the incorrectly filled in word.
Solution of the puzzle is virtually impossible for many people due to the variable difficulty of crossword puzzles and the insertion of a large number of incorrect words.
In fact, many puzzle solvers rarely solve a complete puzzle due to the propagation effect of even a single error in a crossword puzzle. As a result of the frustration resulting from the inability to complete the puzzle and the misleading information provided by incorrectly filled in blanks, many puzzle solvers stop even attempting crossword puzzles. Many others never even try because of their fear of failure.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved puzzle, such as a crossword puzzle, which avoids the propagation effect of incorrectly filled in blanks, creates a realistic opportunity to complete a puzzle and reduces the need to erase errors.